Explained: Online gaming bill empowers authorities with search and arrest powers

Mumbai: The Union government’s draft bill to ban online real-money gaming (RMG) platforms, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, grants authorities the power to search any premise and arrest, without a warrant, any person under suspicion of violation.

The bill, titled ‘the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025’, focuses on curbing online money games, where players stake money with the expectation of financial returns, regardless of whether they are skill-based or chance-based. Consequently, the bill aimed to promote e-sports and social gaming, which are more skill-based.

Further, the draft bill bans online money gaming services and their advertisement and restricted banks and financial institutions from transacting with these platforms.

The draft bill allows any officer appointed by the central government to “enter any place” and “search or arrest without a warrant any person” reasonably suspected of committing or about to commit an offence under this Act.

The bill defines “any place” as any premises, building, vehicle, computer resource, virtual digital space, electronic records, or electronic storage device.

The bill reads, “The officer may access computer resources, virtual digital spaces, electronic records, or storage devices by overriding any access control or security code if such code is unavailable.”

As RMG platforms were already under a 28 per cent GST on deposits (introduced in 2023), with proposals of increasing it to 40 per cent, the bill’s ban could erode tax revenue worth over Rs 20,000 crore.

The government, however, seems determined to curb the rise of online money gaming, which has led to addiction, financial loss, and crime.

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, stated in an appendage to the bill, “These platforms often promote compulsive and addictive behaviour, resulting in financial ruin, mental health disorders, and increasing incidents of fraud and exploitation.”

The bill proposed three years of imprisonment and Rs 1 crore in fines for those found offering, helping, abetting, inciting, or indulging in RMG. Further, the bill proposed 2 years in prison or a Rs 50 lakh fine for advertising, promoting or sponsoring such games.

IANS